Duncanus, Martinus (ca. 1506-1593)

Martinus Duncanus (or Maerten Dunck) of Wormer, was born ca.1506 at Kempen near Krefeld. He was a Catholic priest, who lived in the focus of the Anabaptist movement in Waterland in Holland in 1535. At least 57 persons in his village were persecuted, of whom 32 had taken part in the procession to Münster. He was one of the first Catholic opponents of Menno Simons. His book, Anabaptisticae haereseos conjutatio (1549 at Antwerp), is one of the most violent ever published against the Dutch Anabaptists. He gave it to the city of Amsterdam and received as a gift from the mayors of the city the sum of 22.80 guilders (12 "Caroli-daalders"). As inquisitor of several persons baptized by Gillis van Akenhe earned 5.70 florins in the same year. Later Duncanus was priest at Delft, deacon at the Hague, and from 1572-1578 priest at Amsterdam. He died in Amersfoort in 1593. It is probable that he gave Simon Walrave information on a number of items mentioned in Walrave's Successio Anabaptistica (1603). In addition Duncanus wrote a less significant book, Van die Kinderdoop (Antwerp,1593). When Amsterdam joined the party of William of Orange, Duncanus was one of the persons expelled from the city.